The fear exercise is the most obvious, but they also have other, more subtle ways of instilling fear.
You will walk into the Center, and someone there will inquire about some detail of your personal life which you had not shared anyone at Landmark. This creeped me out much more than the fear meditation, which was more straightforward. You will wonder how they knew that, and then you will remember that you had met your recruiter in a twelve-step group, and that you had shared that information in the 12-step group. The whole thing gives you the feeling that "big brother is watching," and is very creepy. Then, if you say anything about it, you DO sound paranoid.
On the last night of the forum, (Tuesday night), the forum leader makes vague, but thinly veiled, threats against anyone who says that Landmark does not work for them, then quickly moves on to talk about "possibilities" and other feel-good material. I knew that other people beside me were also made uncomfortable by this, but let it blow over. They would rather focus on the "positives," than to hold his feet to the fire and remain uncomfortable. It is easy to tell oneself that "he really didn't mean that the way it sounded."
You will walk into the Center, and someone there will inquire about some detail of your personal life which you had not shared anyone at Landmark. This creeped me out much more than the fear meditation, which was more straightforward. You will wonder how they knew that, and then you will remember that you had met your recruiter in a twelve-step group, and that you had shared that information in the 12-step group. The whole thing gives you the feeling that "big brother is watching," and is very creepy. Then, if you say anything about it, you DO sound paranoid.
On the last night of the forum, (Tuesday night), the forum leader makes vague, but thinly veiled, threats against anyone who says that Landmark does not work for them, then quickly moves on to talk about "possibilities" and other feel-good material. I knew that other people beside me were also made uncomfortable by this, but let it blow over. They would rather focus on the "positives," than to hold his feet to the fire and remain uncomfortable. It is easy to tell oneself that "he really didn't mean that the way it sounded."